Lionel Messi will have one more opportunity to win a World Cup for Argentina this fall. Messi is one of the greatest players in the history of soccer, winning a record seven Ballon d’Or awards as the best player in the world. However, he has been unable to lead his home country to a World Cup, as the best that Argentina has done with Messi is a runner-up finish at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. They are sizeable favorites by the soccer betting odds to win Group C, but this is a somewhat tricky group.
Odds to win 2022 FIFA World Cup Group C
Argentina -250
Mexico +450
Poland +470
Saudi Arabia +3000
After 16 years of coming up short on the international stage, Messi finally led Argentina to a major title in 2021. Argentina only allowed three goals on its way to winning the Copa America in Brazil, lifting a massive weight off Messi’s shoulders. The captain was the top goal scorer and was voted the Best Player at the event, so the pressure is somewhat off of him entering the World Cup in Qatar.
Messi turned 35 in June, and he is still an elite player, although he is no longer at his apex. He needs the supporting cast to come into its own, led by Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez. The 25-year-old has netted 20 goals in 38 matches for Argentina. Paulo Dybala and Julian Alvarez have the potential to make an impact too up top.
Angel Di Maria has over 100 caps for Argentina too, but he is also at the tail end of his career. Rodrigo De Paul is a solid defensive midfielder, so a lot of pressure will be on Leandro Paredes to take his game to the next level. The back line looked solid in Brazil last year, and their development will be important to Argentina’s chances in Qatar.
The most consistent team at the World Cup over the last three decades has been Mexico. El Tri has made it to the Round of 16 and no further in seven straight World Cups. There is something to be said about their continued ability to make the knockout rounds, but their inability to progress further is telling too.
All-time leading scorer Chicharito is still a question mark for Mexico this fall. Chicharito hasn’t played for the national team in almost three years due to a dispute with manager Tata Martino, but the door is not yet closed on a potential return. Raul Jimenez, Jesus Manuel Corona, and Hirving Lozano will be tasked with leading the attack if Chicharito isn’t on the pitch. All three players are more talented than Chicharito at this point in their careers, but they don’t have the same allure for the fans.
Andres Guardado and Hector Herrera both have over 100 caps in the midfield, but the real concern is a back line that isn’t very talented. Hector Moreno has 124 caps and a lot of experience, yet every defender that is expected to start plays professionally in North America.
It’s been 36 years since Poland made it out of the Group Stage of the World Cup. The White and Red have a superstar in captain and all-time leading goal scorer Robert Lewandowski (76 goals in 132 matches) but opposing teams have focused on shutting down Lewandowski to stop Poland.
Other than Lewandowski, the only elite player on Poland is goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. There might be other forwards that are ready to take the lead though like Krzysztof Piatek and Arkadiusz Milik. Piotr Zielinski could be primed for a strong showing in Qatar as well.
One of the biggest longshots to win the World Cup is Saudi Arabia. The Green Falcons are a near unanimous pick to finish at the bottom of Group C, as they have won just one match in their last four World Cup appearances. They fell to Colombia and Venezuela in friendlies this summer, and there isn’t much offense.
Every player on the national team plays professionally in Saudi Arabia. That does help with chemistry, but the Saudi Professional League is not the home of elite pros. This team will be hard-pressed to score goals in Qatar.
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